Do you want to know where your German-speaking friends and colleagues come from? Talking about where you come from is a great way to get to know somebody new. It'll even help you discover more about different cultures and places.

Here we'll introduce you to different ways to learn where someone is from and to talk about your own origins in German. Have a look at the tables below and get ready for the next time you meet a German speaker!

Asking Someone Where They Come From

The questions we've collected for you here are essential when you want to know where someone is from. Have a look and try them out the next time you meet somebody new.
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German German English English
Woher kommst du?
 Where do you come from?
Wo wohnst du?
 Where do you live?
Lebst du gerne in Deutschland?
 Do you like living in Germany?
Wie lange lebst du schon in Luxemburg?
 How long have you lived in Luxembourg?
Wie lange bist du schon in Österreich?
 How long have you been in Austria?
Welche Staatsangehörigkeit hast du?
 What nationality are you?
Was ist deine Heimatstadt?
 What is your hometown?
Wo bist du aufgewachsen?
 Where did you grow up?
Wo wurdest du geboren?
 Where were you born?
Wo liegt Hamburg?
 Where is Hamburg?
Bist du aus Deutschland?
 Are you from Germany?
Welche Sprachen sprichst du?
 What languages do you speak?
Was ist deine Muttersprache?
 What is your first language?
⁠Woher kommst du?
Using this question or the question ⁠ are the most common ways to find out where somebody is from. There's a lot of different ways someone could respond to this question. They could say the country, city, or even region they are from. For example: ⁠Ich bin aus Luxemburg.
⁠Wo wohnst du?
Use this question to find out where someone's current home is. Again there are many different ways to respond to this question. You might say the country, town, street, or even the building that you are living in. Here is an example response: ⁠Ich wohne in Berlin in der Hauptstraße.
⁠Welche Staatsangehörigkeit hast du?
You can also find out where someone is from by asking what nationality they are. Use the question above to do this. To respond to this question, you need to simply state your nationality. So, for example, if your home country is Brazil, then your nationality would be Brasilianer or Brasilianerin, depending on your gender. So, a Brazilian male would say: ⁠Ich bin Brasilianer.
⁠Was ist deine Heimatstadt?
Your Heimatstadt could be several different things. Usually it is the town you were born and raised in, but it could also be the town where your family lives, where you went to school, or really any place that you'd call home. A response to this question might look something like this: ⁠Meine Heimatstadt ist Berlin.
⁠Was ist deine Muttersprache?
Ask this question to find out what language somebody grew up speaking. You could ask the same thing by using the questions: ⁠ or ⁠. Answering these questions is simple! Just state the first language you grew up speaking, like this: ⁠Meine Muttersprache ist Deutsch.

Telling Someone Where You Are From

Just as you might be curious about where somebody is from, others will want to get to know more about you! Don't worry! The phrases below will help you talk about where you are from so that others can get to know you better.
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German German English English
Ich komme aus Luxemburg.
 I'm from Luxembourg.
Ich komme aus einer kleinen Stadt.
 I come from a small town.
Ich lebe in Deutschland.
 I live in Germany.
Ich lebe seit zwei Jahren hier.
 I've been living here for two years.
Ich bin Amerikaner.
 I'm American.
Meine Heimatstadt ist in Deutschland.
 My hometown is in Germany.
Ich bin in Österreich aufgewachsen.
 I grew up in Austria.
Ich bin in Österreich geboren.
 I was born in Austria.
⁠Ich komme aus Luxemburg
Use the sentence pattern Ich komme aus + ORT to tell someone where you are from. Here is an example of this: ⁠Ich komme aus Japan. After telling someone where you are from, it's a good idea to ask where they are from: ⁠Woher kommst du?.
⁠Ich lebe in Deutschland
The easiest way to tell somebody where you live is to use the sentence pattern: Ich lebe in + ORT. For example: ⁠Ich lebe mit meiner Freundin in Berlin. Someone might respond to a sentence like this by saying: ⁠Lebst du gerne dort?.
⁠Ich lebe seit zwei Jahren hier
Use the sentence pattern Ich lebe seit + ZEITSPANNE + hier to tell someone how long you have lived somewhere. Here is another example: ⁠Ich lebe seit einem Jahr in der Stadt. There are different ways somebody could respond to sentences like this. For example, a response to Ich lebe seit zwei Jahren hier could be ⁠Gefällt es dir hier?.
⁠Ich bin in Österreich aufgewachsen
To tell someone where you grew up, use the sentence pattern Ich bin in + ORT + aufgewachsen. For example: ⁠Ich bin in Luxemburg aufgewachsen. Someone could respond to this is by asking: ⁠Wie war es dort?.
⁠Ich bin in Österreich geboren
The sentence pattern Ich bin in + ORT + geboren can be used to tell someone where you were born. Here is another example of this: ⁠Ich wurde in einer Stadt in der Nähe von München geboren. Somebody could respond to a sentence like this by asking a question like: ⁠Wann bist du hierher gezogen?.

Relax while Listening to the Phrases

Keep calm and learn German! Listen to the phrases again with relaxing background music. This will help you improve your listening skills and remember the phrases. Choose your favorite style, then kick back and relax!
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Audio with Meditative Music



Relax with the Sounds of Nature: River



Relax with the Sounds of Nature: Wind

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Dialogue
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Dialogue
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Dialogue

Practice & Record a Dialogue

Take the next step and use what you’ve learned! Check out this topic’s dialogue unit and practice the phrases in a variety of exercises. Test your knowledge and get ready for real life conversations!
Woher kommst du?en
Ich komme aus Österreich. Woher kommst du?en
Ich bin aus Hamburg. Wo wohnst du in Österreich?en

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most important German phrases I should know for talking about where people are from?
  • Woher kommst du?
    Where do you come from?
  • Wo wohnst du?
    Where do you live?
  • Was ist deine Heimatstadt?
    What is your hometown?
  • Ich komme aus Luxemburg.
    I'm from Luxembourg.
  • Ich lebe in Deutschland.
    I live in Germany.
  • Ich lebe seit zwei Jahren hier.
    I've been living here for two years.
  • Ich bin in Österreich aufgewachsen.
    I grew up in Austria.

Show All Phrases
How do I tell someone where I am from?
Use the sentence pattern Ich komme aus + ORT to tell someone where you are from.
  • Ich komme aus Luxemburg. (I'm from Luxembourg.)
  • Ich komme aus Österreich. (I'm from Austria.)
  • Ich komme aus Deutschland. (I'm from Germany.)

Show All Phrases
How do I tell someone where I live?
Use the sentence pattern Ich lebe in + ORT to tell someone where you currently live.
  • Ich lebe in Deutschland. (I live in Germany.)
  • Ich lebe in Berlin. (I live in Berlin.)
  • Ich lebe in München. (I live in Munich.)

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How do I tell someone how long I've been living somewhere?
To state the amount of time that you've spent living in one place, use the sentence pattern Ich lebe seit + ZEITSPANNE + hier
  • Ich lebe seit zwei Jahren hier. (I've been living here for two years.)
  • Ich lebe seit drei Monaten hier. (I've been living here for three months.)
  • Ich lebe seit Jahren hier. (I've been living here for years.)

Show All Phrases
How do I tell someone where I grew up?
To tell someone where you grew up, use the sentence pattern Ich bin in + ORT + aufgewachsen.
  • Ich bin in Österreich aufgewachsen. (I grew up in Austria.)
  • Ich bin in Luxemburg aufgewachsen. (I grew up in Luxembourg.)
  • Ich bin in Deutschland aufgewachsen. (I grew up in Germany.)

Show All Phrases
How do I tell somebody where I was born?
The sentence pattern Ich bin in + ORT + geboren can be used to tell someone where you were born.
  • Ich bin in Österreich geboren. (I was born in Austria.)
  • Ich bin in Luxemburg geboren. (I was born in Luxembourg.)
  • Ich bin in Deutschland geboren. (I was born in Germany.)

Show All Phrases
How do I ask someone where they are from?
⁠Woher kommst du?

Using this question or the question ⁠ are the most common ways to find out where somebody is from. There's a lot of different ways someone could respond to this question. They could say the country, city, or even region they are from. For example: ⁠Ich bin aus Luxemburg.
What does the word Heimatstadt mean?
Your Heimatstadt could be several different things. Usually it is the town you were born and raised in, but it could also be the town where your family lives, where you went to school, or really any place that you'd call home. A response to this question might look something like this: ⁠Meine Heimatstadt ist Berlin.

Learn more

How are you? (Part 1)
Learn Phrases
Introducing Yourself
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The Weather
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The Time
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Apologizing
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Giving Compliments
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Favorites
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Fashion
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